Super J Cup 2016 - August 21st 2016Coming hot off the heels of an incredible G1 final weekend that saw 3 MOTY contenders, the Super J cup comes at an odd time where a lot of us (to the west at least) may be a little burned out, and with the huge Summerslam weekend, as well as the big UFC event for those that way inclined, meant this could have slipped between the cracks, however what we got was a good, but not great, show that helped set up some interesting scenarios for the road to WrestleKingdom.
The Quarter finals started with Jushin Thunder Liger vs Taichi. Taichi came down to the ring miming to his entrance music, yes we had to listen to the entire song. The match itself wasn't much, Taichi's Suzuki-Gun team mate Desperado running interference, luring Liger to the outside where he and Taichi beat him down and left him to eventually be counted out. Business picked up with Jr Heavyweight champ KUSHIDA vs Kenoh. the two had a great back and forth contest with lots of slick submissions and hard strikes. Eventually it was KUSHIDA who pulled out the win with a Cross Arm-breaker. Best of the Super Juniors finalist Ryusuke Taguchi took on GHC Jr Heavyweight Champ Yoshinobu Kanemaru next, This match wasn't much to write home about as it mainly focused on Taguchis arse based offence, which Kanemaru replied to by beating him down. The closing stretch was pretty good showing that Taguchi does have it in him when he wants to go, but ultimately Kanemaru moved to the next round. Finally, we had Matt Sydal vs Will Ospreay. Sydal doesnt get many singles matches in Japan but is more than capable with all his experience, taking on the promising rising star and Best of the Super Juniors winner. The match was fast paced and saw lots of inventive moves and counters until Sydal hit the shooting star press for the win. The Semi finals came after the break with Taichi vs KUSHIDA. This was a pretty great match that saw more of the action we saw in KUSHIDAs quarter final contest with submissions and strikes, but adding in the chaos at ringside from Taichi's colleagues. It looked pretty bleak for KUSHIDA with all the interference, until he managed to roll up Taichi in a small package for the win. Kanemaru vs Matt Sydal was next for the last place in the final. The story here was Sydal using his fast paced aerial assault and Kanemaru trying to slow the action down. The High risk moves of Sydal eventually caught him, as Kanemaru blocked a super frankensteiner, hit a huge lariat and then the Brain Buster for the win. We got two Tag title contests before the final. First was ACH & Taiiji Ishimori vs Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada for the GCH Jr Heavyweight tag titles in a decent contest that saw the champions Kotoge and Harada retain, only for GEDO and JEDO to come and challenge them for the titles in the future. This was followed up by The Young Bucks vs Motor City Machine Guns for the IWGP Jr Heavyweight tag titles. This match was really great and will hopefully mean we get more MGMC in NJPW, they both looked to steal the show but eventually fell to the Meltzer driver. After the match, the Young Bucks put out a challenge of their own, for the Heavyweight Tag titles currently held by the Briscoe Brothers. That one will be great. It was time for the finals, with KUSHIDA vs KANEMARU, IWGP and GHC Jr Heavyweight champions colliding. This maybe tipped the tag match for MOTN as both men really brought it and told a great story throughout the match. There was lots of action on the outside as the NJPW/NOAH feud continued here as members of both organisations who had featured in the tournament flanked their men at ringside and looked to interfere whenever they could. Ultimately KUSHIDA pulled out the big victory with the Hoverboard lock. This tournament came off as a bit of an afterthought with the G1 Climax and Best of the Super Juniors taking the headlines this year already. It was also used primarily to continue the growing NJPW/NOAH rivalry, so KUSHIDAs win didnt mean even half as much as Will Ospreay and Kenny Omegas tournament wins. That said, it was still a decent show to pass some time.
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